Bed-slat.



G. w. HINTON.

BED SLAT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15, 1915.

1,167,692. Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

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GEORGE WASHINGTON HINTON, OF HOPE, ARKANSAS.

BED-SLAT.

Application filed February 15, 1915.

v '1 b all whom it may concern Hope, in the county of Hempstead and State of Arkansas, have inventeda new and useful Bed-Slat, of which the following is a specification.

By way of explanation it may be stated that the mattress, the spring structure or other compressible support which sustains the weight of a person in a bed, commonly becomes downwardly concaved on its upper surface, and adjacent its longitudinal center, after a period of use of greater or less duration.

The disadvantages connected with the foregoing are obvious, and one object of the present invention is to provide a means under the control of an operator whereby the mattress, springs or other support may be carried upwardly along its longitudinal center, thereby to dispose the upper face of the mattress or other support flat and level.

A further object of the invention and a more specific one is to improve the construction of a bed slat, whereby at the will of the operator, the same may be arched upwardly to a predetermined extent.

Another object of the invention is to improve the means whereby the slat may be arched upwardly as aforesaid.

It is within the scope of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

lVith the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1 shows the invention in side elevation, portions of the bed appearing in section; Fig. 2 shows in bottom plan, the slat forming a portion of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the lon gitudinally extensible strut which extends between the tie and the slat; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 indicates the side rails of a bed, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11,1916.

Serial No. 8,285.

side rails commonly being provided with shoulders 2 which uphold the slats of the bed.

In carrying out the present invention and in combination with the elements above specified, there are provided a plurality of flexible, resilient slats 3, ordinarily fashioned from wood, one slat only being shown in the drawings. In its upper face and adjacent its ends, the slat 3 may be cut away or grooved, the walls of the grooves slanting downwardly and inwardly, thereby to define at each end of the slat, a head 4% and a transverse shoulder 5 spaced from the end of the slat.

The invention includes a pair of hookshaped connections adapted to be assembled with the end of each slat 3. Each connec tion comprises a base 6 lying against the under face of the slat 3 adjacent the end of the slat, a depending tongue 7, extended downwardly with respect to the lower face of the slat and provided with an opening 8, an end wall 9, resting against the end of the slat, and a top 10 downwardly and inwardly inclined, the top 10 abutting at its inner end against the shoulder 5'. It will now be understood that the connections are mounted on the ends of the slat by moving the connections transversely with respect to the slat, the heads 4 at the ends of the slats, however, cooperating with the connections in such a manner that the same cannot be removed from the slat by moving the connections outwardly. The specific construction above described may, however, be dispensed with without jeopardizing all of the useful features of the invention.

The invention comprises a tie 11, preferably made of wire, the tie being provided at its ends with hooks 12 detachably engaged in the openings 8 of the connections. Interposed between the intermediate portion of the tie 11 and the slat 3 is a longitudinally extensible strut embodying a pedestal including a base 14- and a neck 15 threaded into the base as shown at 16, or otherwise secured thereto. Mounted to reciprocate for adjustment in the neck 15 is a screw 17 threaded as shown at 18 to receive a nut 19 which bears against the lower end of the neck 15. The screw 17 terminates in a head 20 provided with a kerf 21 in which the intermediate portion of the tie 11 is detachably lodged.

A compressible support 22 ordinarily is upheld by the slats 3 of the bed. This support is shown in the form of a mattress, but it may be of any other desired construction. After a period of use, the support 22 becomes depressed upon its upper surface and along its longitudinal center, as is common and well known. Under such circumstances, the slat 3 is bowed upwardly as shown in Fig. 1 by manipulating the nut 19 to advance the screw 17 out of the pedestal. By this operation, the support 22 is concaved on its lower surface as shown at 24,

the upper surface of the support being made .level and flat.

All portions of the invention excepting possibly the slat 3 are made of metal. Especial attention is directed to the fact that the device is so constructed that it may either be assembled with slats already in use, or be supplied in connection with new slats.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device of the class described, cooperating elements comprising a flexible slat and a tie having its ends assembled with the slat; and a longitudinally extensible strut interposed between said cooperating elements and located intermediate the ends thereof, the strut comprlsmg a pedestal engaglng one of said cotiperating elements, a screw mounted to slide in the pedestal and engaging the other of said cooperating elements, and anut on the screw, the nut bearing against the pedestal. I

2. In a device of the class described, a slat termediate portion of the tie and the inter-' mediate portion of the slat.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aifixed my signa ture in the presenceof two witnesses.

GEORGE WASHINGTON HINTON.

WVitnesses:

W. P. AGEE, R. T. WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington. D. C. 

